Today's motorboats are mostly controlled by a steering wheel. The rotation speed control for acceleration and retardation of the motorboat is usually made using one or two levers mounted on a support at a distance from the steering wheel. Shifting between forward and backward propulsion is usually controlled with an additional lever, which is usually arranged on said support.
In some vessels, especially in so-called water scooters, the steering wheel has been replaced by a handle bar. The usage of a handle bar instead of a steering wheel leads to a number of advantages for the driver. A handle bar provides for better control of the boat as the proprioceptive signals are more directly related to the reaction of the boat: if the handle bar is turned to a certain angle, the boat will follow the same angle. This is to be compared with a conventional wheel where a rudder angle of 90° is obtained by a steering wheel movement of 540°. In addition, the handle bar stabilizes the driver during ride. Furthermore, the handle bar provides a more ergonomic grip for the hand, whereby the risk of injuries of the hands and loss of control of the vessel in rough sea are reduced.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,125 describes a vessel provided with a handle bar. The handle bar is provided with a throttle control handle in each end of the handle bar. The throttle control handles are designed as lever arms mounted in connection with the handles of the handle bar. The lever arms are to be gripped with an open hand whereby the thumbs rest on the underside of the handles of the handle bar and the rest of the fingers are intended to rest on the lever arms. This grip, with an open hand, leads to a risk of thumb injuries during rough sea whereby the control over the vessel can be lost.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,911 describes a vessel provided with a handle bar, which handle bar is provided with a throttle twist grip.
The vessels in both mentioned documents lack additional control handles arranged in connection with the handle bar.
The object of the invention is to provide a control handle for a vessel and a vessel including such a control handle, where the safety during operation is further increased.